Did you get through all of your holiday travels with your valuabes still intact? Consider yourself lucky. One musician says his collection of handmade bamboo flutes was destroyed by customs agents at JFK International Airport because they were considered agricultural products.
Writer and musicologist Norman Lebrecht first reported the story on his blog at ArtsJournal. The musician, Boujemaa Razgui, is a Canadian citizen living in New York who performs traditional Middle Eastern music in several different ensembles around the world. (Via Vimeo / Universal Edition, YouTube / Atlas Soul)
Razgui said: "I told them I had these instruments for many years and flew with them in and out ... There were 11 instruments in all. They told me they were agricultural products and they had to be destroyed. There was nothing I could do."
He said he was scared to confront the U.S. officials, so he lost his beloved flutes. So far, U.S. Customs and Border Protection hasn't responded to the story, but its website says wood musical instruments are allowed, although it says undried or untreated bamboo is not.
Of course, regulators and musicians have butted heads before. In 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service raided the factories of Gibson Guitar looking for banned wood like endangered ebony. (Via Fox News)
The raid left many musicians wondering whether their instruments were safe going through customs. The Wall Street Journal wrote at the time:
"If you are the lucky owner of a 1920s Martin guitar, it may well be made, in part, of Brazilian rosewood. Cross an international border with an instrument made of that now-restricted wood, and you better have correct and complete documentation ... Otherwise, you could lose it to a zealous customs agent."
Finally, in June 2013, musicians got some clarification, with a Department of Agriculture report saying traveling musicians don't need documentation for their wood, and that policing vintage instruments wasn't something the agency was concerned about. (Via Los Angeles Times)
But musicians still have to deal with the TSA, and that can cause problems. Like when agents snapped a cellist's irreplaceable $20,000 bow last February. Whoops. (Via RT)
Razgui has a performance scheduled for February. No word on if he'll be able to get his hands on a new flute in time.
